A few links

1. Automobile sales to small businesses increase in Ft. Worth and in the nation - a sign of durable goods orders picking up. Reported by the Fort Worth Star Telegram.

"General Motors reported Friday that its Chevrolet division saw a 36 percent increase in sales to small businesses in the fourth quarter, three times the rate of growth of auto sales overall."

2. Another sign of stronger durable goods sales - firms are upgrading their computer systems and buying more iPads for their business.

"Corporate spending on technology helped IBM Corp. beat analyst expectations last week. On Tuesday, IBM said that its 7 percent jump in revenue came in part from companies in the U.S. upgrading their computer systems. Its stock jumped almost 4 percent last week. ...

Corporations “are adding iPads to their approved device list at an amazing rate,” Peter Oppenheimer, Apple Inc.’s chief financial officer, told analysts Tuesday. Apple’s products, more known for their consumer appeal, are now used in by employees of Wells Fargo, Archer Daniels Midland, DuPont and others."

3. More good news for Texas (as compared to worse-faring parts of the country): significantly less 'distressed property sales' in Texas than in the nation as a whole or than in California, Nevada, Arizona. While 66% of all property sales in California are 'distressed sales', only 29% in Texas match that description.

"Distressed property sales were not distributed evenly around the country. In California, a state hit hard by the foreclosure crisis, an enormous 66% of all transactions tracked in December involved distressed properties. The combined area of Arizona and Nevada similarly suffered, with 62% of transactions being distressed. However, in the oil-producing states of Texas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana, only 29% of transactions were distressed."